Politics of Human Vulnerability to Climate Change

Julia Teebken is a political and social scientist, and currently is a Postdoc in the Peking-Princeton Postdoctoral Program. She holds a Ph.D. degree from the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research focuses on the political responses and causes of (social) vulnerability to climate change. In this capacity, she researches inequality and climate change adaptation policy across different political systems.

• 1. Introduction: uneven human vulnerability to climate change 2. Vulnerability: core concepts 3. Vulnerability and adaptation lock-ins: Theoretical foundations and main analytical framework 4. Methodological approach 5. Vulnerability and adaptation governance in China and the United States 6. Regional backgrounds and contextual lock-ins 7. Protracted vulnerability 8. Accidental adaptation policy 9. Lock-ins of political epistemology across different political systems 10. Adaptation policy and transformation? 11. Conclusion

"Dr. Teebken’s in-depth and critical comparative analysis of Chinese and US climate adaptation policies points out a harsh reality. Neither China nor the United States is well prepared to deal with growing climate change threats. The marginalized in these countries (will) have to battle the most. Her case studies of local policy responses to major flooding and heat events in Atlanta, Georgia and Jinhua, Zhejiang show that disadvantaged populations were impacted especially hard also because of their limited access to public resources and political bias. Dr. Teebken suggests that environmental justice in climate adaptation policies will not be achieved unless deep, underlying structural inequalities and discriminatory practices are first acknowledged and addressed."Miranda A. Schreurs, Professor of Environment and Climate Policy, Technical University of Munich